Zahid denies inviting KJ to rejoin Umno
Zahid stressed that the meeting was purely coincidental and did not involve any political discussion.
PUTRAJAYA – Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has denied claims that he invited former Umno youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin to return to the party.
His denial follows reports by several news portals alleging that Khairy, who is also the former Rembau MP, was expected to rejoin Umno ahead of the Sabah state election scheduled for the end of this month.
According to those reports, Khairy who is currently a radio presenter was said to have received the blessing of Umno's top leadership, particularly the party president, to make his comeback.
It was also reported that Khairy had expressed his desire to return to Umno during an informal meeting with Zahid at the wedding reception of Perlis Umno chairman Datuk Rozabil Abdul Rahman’s daughter, recently.
However, Zahid stressed that the meeting was purely coincidental and did not involve any political discussion.
"I only met him at the wedding ceremony and we didn’t discuss anything. What appeared in the media is just what the media wrote.
"I respect him very much and do not wish to contradict any journalist who wrote about the matter, unlike how someone once did," he said.
He was speaking to reporters at the Putrajaya Festival of Ideas 2025, organised by the Higher Education Ministry at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre on Tuesday.
The event was also attended by Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir.
For the record, Khairy was expelled from Umno in January 2023 for openly criticising the party’s top leadership during the 15th General Election campaign. He also lost his contest for the Sungai Buloh parliamentary seat.
Meanwhile, when asked about Barisan Nasional’s (BN) preparations for the Sabah state polls, Zahid said seat distribution discussions were nearly complete.
"Yes, almost done… I’d say 95 per cent completed," he said.
He added that an official announcement would be made soon.
"I will announce it when I fly to Kota Kinabalu next week," he said.
Zahid also revealed that BN would feature many new faces in the upcoming election saying that almost 80 per cent will be new candidates.
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